Review for Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith

 

Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith

ebook, 290 pages                                                                                                                                                        

  publication: April 30th 2021 by Bookouture

Genre:  Second Chance Romance

Synopsis:

Lola was struck by just how quickly she recognized him. It had been ten long years since she’d seen him; ten years of thinking that maybe she hadn't really loved him. But there he was. And he still took her breath away.

Lola has turned her life around since her wild teenage years, but one thing hasn’t changed: how her sister sees her. Her sister Carmen only remembers the mistakes she’s made and can’t see the potential of Lola’s plans to expand the family vineyard business at Blue Hills. But Lola is determined to win Carmen round—and gain her respect once and for all.

Then Lola’s high school sweetheart Gus arrives back in town, and everything changes. He was her first love, the bad boy she used to climb out of windows to see. But he’d broken her heart when he left town suddenly, without so much as a goodbye. And after that, she’d never seen him again. Until now.

Gus isn’t that same rebel anymore. It’s taken everything he has to come back to this town full of bittersweet memories, but he owes it to himself, and to Lola, to make amends. But she’s not that lovesick girl anymore and she knows she can’t let him turn her head again. So why can’t she stop thinking about how his strong arms would feel wrapped around her?

Then fate intervenes, and they’re forced to work together on Lola’s biggest project—and the sparks begin to fly once more…

As the sun sets over the mountains and meadows of Blue Hills, can two people who’d thought they could never be together find their way home to each other?

 An utterly romantic feel-good read about being true to yourself and becoming the person you were always meant to be, Long Walk Home will make you laugh, make you cry and show you that true love always finds a way. For fans of Robyn Carr, Carolyn Brown and Mary Ellen Taylor.

 

My Thoughts…A feel-good romance set in a small town is the perfect easy read.   I enjoyed the setting of the small-town winery run by a family that has drama but truly love each other.  Carmen is the typical older sister, the one in charge, and the one who has all the answers.   I am the oldest child in my family and could see some of her characteristics in myself and hope that I have never treated my siblings as she treats Lola.    Lola is the youngest, a free flying child.   She has ideas, some not so great ones, but good or bad they never get heard.   Her family does not see that she has so much to give to the winery and that they should give her a chance.  I loved how Lola started to stand up for herself and pushed everyone to respect her and her ideas.  

The relationship of Gus and Lola was interesting.   Their relationship had a bumpy end during their younger days and now that Gus is back the sparks are flying again.  Gus is a wonderful character that is just trying to make amends for the mistakes of his past, Lola being one of those mistakes.   Lola does not know the whole story, it was kept from her, and when Gus returns she is torn on whether to forgive him or push him away.  I like how their story is slow.   They do not just jump back together, but they fight their feelings wanting to be sure that no one gets hurt again. 

This is the first book by Ellyn Oaksmith that I have read and I will be looking for more of her fun romances.  

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

 

Author bio:

Ellyn Oaksmith is the USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of addictively fun love stories. She has never run a winery, been attacked by drones or nearly drowned someone but she loves putting her characters in challenging situations. Ellyn also enjoys chatting with readers on social media. Especially when she should be writing.

Ellyn began her writing life as a screenwriter in Los Angeles which, outside of writing hours, is exactly as crazy as it seems in the movies. After hightailing it back to her native Seattle, Ellyn began writing comedic romances and never looked back.

Ellyn lives in Seattle with her husband. She's part of a competitive rowing team. You can often find her on Lake Sammamish rowing in the dark.

Author website: www.EllynOaksmith.com
Facebook: @EllynOaksmith
Instagram: @EllynOaksmith

 

 

              

Review for Off to the Races by Elsie Silver

 

I’m the new racehorse trainer at Gold Rush Ranch and I’ve got three months to turn a problem stallion into a winner. Working with horses is easy, but contending with Vaughn Harding, my moody new boss, is a whole other story. He can’t decide if he hates me or wants me—not that it matters, I swore off men like him years ago. Readers who enjoy Melanie Harlow and Kelly Elliott will love this slow burn, enemies to lovers, contemporary romance.

Read Now! 

He can’t decide if he hates me or wants me.

Vaughn Harding is my new boss. Getting close to him would be career suicide for a female racehorse trainer, and plain old gossip fuel in this small town. I get a kick out of our verbal sparring, but I swore off his type years ago.

And I’ve got plans.

I’m the new trainer at Gold Rush Ranch and I’ve just been handed a problem horse that I promised to make a winner. I want to put down roots, and I’m not about to let a man distract me. No matter how electric it feels when we lock eyes, or how my body ignites when we touch.

Vaughn’s a vivid reminder of every guy I grew up around. Handsome, rich, entitled--a total media darling. But there’s a sadness in him that I can’t seem to turn my back on. A sensitive side hidden beneath brooding good looks.

The last thing I need is a broken man to put back together, and the last thing he needs is more scandal.

Teasing him for kicks is one thing, but handing over my heart?

I should have known better.

My Thoughts…Quick, fun, and easy.   The book was quick to read, I fell into the easy story and could not stop reading.    The characters and their lives were fun to learn about, even with the drama.   The heat between Vaughn and Billie had me hoping that it would never fizzle.   I loved feeling the sparks fly with each look and was excited to see how they would come together without combusting. 

I know nothing about horse racing or all the hard work that comes with that career.   As I read more about DD and Gold Rush Ranch I found myself wanting to learn more.  I wanted to know what some of the terms meant and was excited to figure it all out.   While the book is set around horse racing and the ranch, I felt that my lack of knowledge had no bearing on how much I enjoyed the story.   I loved the people who worked on the ranch, Violet being on my most favorites.  I could picture the beautiful horses, the barns, and the cottage that Vaughn and Billie spent much of their time. 

Elsie Silver is a new to me author and I will look forward to reading more of her books.   This one is  light, fun, sexy, and steamy. 

Add to Goodreads!

Goodreads → https://bit.ly/3cmeyGx

Excerpt 

Copyright @ Elsie Silver

“No, Billie,” his voice is dangerously low as he angles his head so close to my ear that I can feel his breath fan across my throat, “women usually go out of their way to endear themselves to me. Not piss me off.”

Time to teach this prick a lesson.

His words set me off and without thinking I reach out towards him and hook my index finger into his crisp white dress shirt, right between the buttons. I can feel the muscles in his abdomen clench under my touch as I gently trace the tip of my finger across his hot skin, feeling the firm ridges I knew would be there. 

To anyone loitering at the stables, our silhouettes would almost look like he was a vampire going in for a quick taste with the way he towers over me. I send up a silent prayer that no one can see us and close my finger around the fabric that’s brushing against my hand, pulling his torso closer to mine so that I straddle his thigh. 

I hear his sharp intake of air and feel a familiar ache just below my hip bones. This is such a bad idea.

I look up, taking in the dark shadows falling across his brow and his almost pained facial expression. We hold each other in this limbo, facing off for a few seconds before I move so close I can feel the scruff on his jaw lightly scratch my cheek. His hands squeeze my ribs, trying to hold me in place.

At the increase in pressure, my nipples harden and goosebumps bloom across my arms unbidden. This is fine. A totally typical reaction to absolutely anyone touching me like this. 

Disturbed by the way my body responds to his, I opt to up the stakes, fingering the collar of his shirt with my opposite hand and gently running my teeth along the lobe of his ear. I’m pressed so close to him I can feel more than hear the grunt that breaks loose from his chest. 

For a moment I let myself imagine us together under different circumstances, all the delicious noises he would make as he moved above me, pressing into me so hard that our bodies would sink right into the mattress beneath us. Coming completely undone just for me. 

It’s with that image in my mind that I slide my fingers up his neck and through his hair before grabbing a handful firmly. He stands stock still. Frozen.“Well then, let me be the one to deflower you on this one, Boss Man,” I whisper against his ear. “You are absolutely insufferable.” I bite down onto his earlobe again, a little harder this time, which causes the air to leave his lungs in a loud hiss. “Now get your hands off of me, I’m not one of your playthings,” I finish, essentially dousing us both with a bucket of cold water and firmly pushing him away.

About Elsie Silver 

Canadian author who loves book boyfriends and the sassy heroines who bring them to their knees. Connoisseur of charged looks and lingering touches. Fan of witty banter. Horse girl through and through. Fully convinced that it’s always wine o’clock somewhere.

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Spotlight for Leaving Coy's Hill by Katherine A. Sherbrooke

 

Leaving Coy's Hill by  

 Katherine A.  Sherbrooke 

Hardcover, 352 pages 

Publication: May 4th 2021 by Pegasus Books

Genre:  Historical Fiction

An unforgettable story about the triumphs and travails of a woman unwilling to play by the rules, based on the the remarkable life of pioneering feminist and abolitionist Lucy Stone. 

Born on a farm in 1818, Lucy Stone dreamt of extraordinary things for a girl of her time, like continuing her education beyond the eighth grade and working for the abolitionist cause, and of ordinary things, such as raising a family of her own. But when she learns that the Constitution affords no rights to married women, she declares that she will never marry and dedicates her life to fighting for change.

At a time when it is considered promiscuous for women to speak in public, Lucy risks everything for the anti-slavery movement, her powerful oratory mesmerizing even her most ardent detractors as she rapidly becomes a household name. And when she begins to lecture on the “woman question,” she inspires a young Susan B. Anthony to join the movement. But life as a crusader is a lonely one. 

When Henry Blackwell, a dashing and forward-thinking man, proposes a marriage of equals, Lucy must reconcile her desire for love and children with her public persona and the legal perils of marriage she has long railed against. And when a wrenching controversy pits Stone and Anthony against each other, Lucy makes a decision that will impact her legacy forever.

Based on true events, Leaving Coy’s Hill is a timeless story of women’s quest for personal and professional fulfillment within society’s stubborn constraints. And as an abolitionist and women’s rights activist fighting for the future of a deeply divided country, Lucy Stone’s quest to live a life on her own terms is as relevant as ever. In this “propulsive,” “astonishing,” and “powerful” story, Katherine Sherbrooke brings to life a true American heroine for a new generation. 

About the Author

Katherine A. Sherbrooke is the author of Fill the Sky, which was a finalist for the Mary Sarton Award for Contemporary Fiction and the Foreward Indies Book of the Year, and won a 2017 Independent Press Award. She is Chair of the GrubStreet Creative Writing Center in Boston and lives south of the city with her husband, two sons, and black lab.

$25.95 • Hardcover • 978-1643137162 • 352 pages • 6 x 9 • Fiction • May 4, 2021

__________________________________________________________________

148 W 37th Street, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10018

 www.pegasusbooks.com

 

Advance Praise for Leaving Coy’s Hill

 

“What could be more timely than Sherbrooke’s gorgeously fictionalized and page-turning account of Lucy Stone? A stunning look at timeless issues—how we navigate motherhood and career, marriage or staying single, and how we create change in a world that seems to have gone crazy, all told through the lens of one extraordinary heroine.”—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times Bestselling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You

 

“A powerful and stirring portrait of one of the most influential women in the equal rights movement. Thanks to Sherbrooke’s skillful storytelling, Lucy Stone is no less inspiring today than she was 170 years ago. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself ready to march!”—Isla Morley, author of The Last Blue and Come Sunday

 

“Sherbrooke taps into the current moment with authenticity and vulnerability, outrage and heartbreak. You’ll shake your head and raise your fist as Lucy Stone, suffragist and abolitionist, fights maddeningly familiar battles—for pay and property, for physical safety and bodily autonomy, for universal rights and freedoms, and to etch her own name into the history books and prove she is no one’s relic. Leaving Coy’s Hill is deeply moving and profoundly relevant.”—Susan Bernhard, author of Winter Loon

 

“This propulsive and astonishing story transported me to another era while compelling me to think deeply about questions that are as relevant today as they were in the 1800s: What is equality? What will we sacrifice for our principles? What makes a person whole? Immersed in stunning detail and evocative voices from the past, this is a beautiful story that shines a powerful light on values we still struggle to realize and uphold.”—Katrin Schumann, author of This Terrible Beauty and The Forgotten Hours

 

"With incredible elegance and insight, Leaving Coy's Hill strikes a perfect balance between historical setting and a rendering of the inner woman. While Leaving Coy’s Hill illuminates the timeless female struggle for equality, tight roping career and motherhood, and achieving financial independence, its crowning achievement is an authentic, poetic voice. Clear your calendar for this one, it’s an impossible- to-put-down, must read.”—Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg, author of Eden and The Nine

 

"Powerful and moving. With an acute sense of place and an assured hand, Sherbrooke gives Lucy Stone the exposition and recognition she deeply deserves while bringing to light buried truths about the underbelly of the women’s rights movement in the United States. A beautiful meditation on advocacy and courage with a heroine who is impossible to forget.”—Marjan Kamali, author of The Stationary Shop and Together Tea

 

“Both an intimate, urgent confession by a mother to a daughter and a powerful corrective to the biography of one of our country’s most consequential yet under-appreciated reformers. Katherine Sherbrooke has brought the daring, dauntless, silver-throated Lucy Stone to vivid life, giving us a thoroughly-modern heroine whose bold vision has still yet to be fully realized more than a hundred years after her passing. An inspiring, provocative read.”—Christopher Castellani, author of Leading Men

Now Available... With this Cake by Samantha Chase

 

New York Times bestselling author Samantha Chase is bringing more wedding shenanigans with a new standalone story in the Meet Me at the Altar series. WITH THIS CAKE is out now and you don't want to miss it!

About WITH THIS CAKE

Cheery baker dreams of finding Mr. Right…

When your last name is Baker, it’s really only a matter of time before it also becomes your job title. Some might see it as a self-fulfilling prophecy, but for Leanna, being the go-to baker for Meet Me at the Altar is a dream come true. There’s nothing she loves more than to create the perfect desserts to help couples celebrate their big days. But despite what they say about the way to a man’s heart being through his stomach, Leanna has yet to lure her perfect man with her sweet treats.

Uptight workaholic dreams of being left alone…

If Brody King is going to take time off, he would much rather it be to train for his triathlon and not his brother’s engagement party. It would be one thing if it was just a regular party, but no, his brother and his bride-to-be had to go over the top and plan a full week of family togetherness and ridiculous wedding games. There’s no way he’s going to survive it.

When Brody crashes into Leanna and a hundred cupcakes are ruined, he does the only thing he can–he offers to help her make more. All it takes is a few cups of sugar and a dash of vanilla before Brody is craving not just Leanna’s sweet treats, but the baker herself.

Add WITH THIS CAKE to your TBR!

Get your copy of WITH THIS CAKE today! Amazon | Apple | Nook | Kobo

   

About SAMANTHA CHASE

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina. Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Newsletter | BookBub

Review for The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews

 

The Newcomer by Mary Kay Andrews 

 

Kindle Edition

publication: May 4th 2021

Genre:  Romance, Chick Lit, Womens Fiction

 

From Goodreads…Mary Kay Andrews, the New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads delivers her next page-turner for the summer with The Newcomer.

In trouble and on the run...

After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya's ex; sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister's warnings: "If anything bad happens to me--it's Evan. Promise me you'll take Maya and run. Promise me."

With a trunkful of emotional baggage...

So Letty grabs her sister's Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece Maya. Letty is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a "go-bag" of cash and a big honking diamond ring--but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at The Murmuring Surf Motel.

The No Vacancy sign is flashing & the sharks are circling...

And that's the good news. Because The Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and down-right hostility. As Letty settles into the motel's former storage room, she tries to heal Maya's heartache and unravel the key to her sister's shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner's dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn--or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it's a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past.

My Thoughts…It is not quite beach time in Illinois, but this is a wonderful beach read.    The setting of Florida, the beaches, the quaint hotels are all perfect.  I love that Mary Kay Andrews wrote a book that is a fun beach read but it also has suspense, mystery, and romance.  

The sweetness and uniqueness of the residents of The Surf had me laughing and enjoying life.   I liked the quirks, the fun they had, and most of all I loved how they all came together when things got tough.   Letty was not instantly liked but she very quickly became part of their mismatched family.   Little Maya was instantly taken into their family, she was protected and loved.   Her rough life in New York was kept a secret but they knew that her past gave her nightmares and instinctively knew that she needed them all to gather around her and make her life as full of love as possible.    Joe… oh Joe.    He knew something was off with Letty and Maya but he also realized that there had to be more to the story.   He took the time to get to know them, learn their secrets, and trust them.  In that time, he opened his heart and took a risk on Letty.

I will always recommend Mary Kay Andrews.   She is a must-read author.   With each book I find a beautiful setting, an amazing story, and wonderful characters.  

Add to your MUST-READ list on Goodreads

Meet Mary Kay Andrews…MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 novels (including Hello, Summer; Sunset Beach; The High Tide Club; The Weekenders; Beach Town; Save the Date; Ladies’ Night; Christmas Bliss; Spring Fever; Summer Rental; The Fixer Upper; Deep Dish; Blue Christmas; Savannah Breeze; Hissy Fit; Little Bitty Lies; and Savannah Blues), and one cookbook, The Beach House Cookbook.

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, she earned a B.A. in journalism from The University of Georgia. After a 14-year career working as a reporter at newspapers including The Savannah Morning News, The Marietta Journal, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she spent the final ten years of her career, she left journalism in 1991 to write fiction.

Her first novel, Every Crooked Nanny, was published in 1992 by HarperCollins. She went on to write ten critically acclaimed mysteries under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck. In 2002, she assumed the pen name Mary Kay Andrews with the publication of Savannah Blues. In 2006, Hissy Fit became her first New York Times bestseller, followed by twelve more New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestsellers. To date, her novels have been published in German, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Hungarian, Dutch, Czech and Japanese.

She and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, GA, where they cook up new recipes in two restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn and Ebbtide—both named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels, and both available to rent through Tybee Vacation Rentals. In between cooking, spoiling her grandkids, and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses.

 

 

                    

Cover Reveal for Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman with a Giveaway

 

I’m thrilled to be participating in the cover reveal for Leah Angstman’s debut novel, OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA, coming January 2022 from Regal House Publishing.

OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA:

BY LEAH ANGSTMAN

Publication Date: January 11, 2022

Regal House Publishing

Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook; 334 pages

Genre: Historical / Literary / Epic

**Shortlisted for the Chaucer Book Award**

 

OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a historical epic of one woman’s survival in a time when the wilderness is still wild, heresy is publicly punishable, and being independent is worse than scorned—it is a death sentence.

At the onset of King William’s War between French and English settlers in 1689 New England, Ruth Miner is accused of witchcraft for the murder of her parents and must flee the brutality of her town. She stows away on the ship of the only other person who knows her innocence: an audacious sailor — Owen — bound to her by years of attraction, friendship, and shared secrets. But when Owen’s French ancestry finds him at odds with a violent English commander, the turmoil becomes life-or-death for the sailor, the headstrong Ruth, and the cast of Quakers, Pequot Indians, soldiers, highwaymen, and townsfolk dragged into the fray. Now Ruth must choose between sending Owen to the gallows or keeping her own neck from the noose.

Steeped in historical events and culminating in a little-known war on pre-American soil, OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a story of early feminism, misogyny, arbitrary rulings, persecution, and the treatment of outcasts, with parallels still mirrored and echoed in today’s society. The debut novel will appeal to readers of Paulette Jiles, Alexander Chee, Hilary Mantel, James Clavell, Bernard Cornwell, TaraShea Nesbit, Geraldine Brooks, Stephanie Dray, Patrick O’Brian, and E. L. Doctorow.

AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER
REGAL HOUSE PRINT | AMAZON KINDLE

AVAILABLE FOR ARC REQUEST
TNBBC PUBLICITY

Praise

“With OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA, Leah Angstman reveals herself as a brave new voice in historical fiction. With staggering authenticity, Angstman gives us a story of America before it was America — an era rife with witch hunts and colonial intrigue and New World battles all but forgotten in our history books and popular culture. This is historical fiction that speaks to the present, recalling the bold spirits and cultural upheavals of a nation yet to be born.”
—Taylor Brown, author of PRIDE OF EDEN, GODS OF HOWL MOUNTAIN, and THE RIVER OF KINGS

“Steeped in lush prose, authentic period detail, and edge-of-your-seat action, OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a rollicking good read. Leah Angstman keeps the story moving at a breathtaking pace, and she knows more 17th-century seafaring language and items of everyday use than you can shake a stick at. The result is a compelling work of romance, adventure, and historical illumination that pulls the reader straight in.”
—Rilla Askew, author of FIRE IN BEULAH, THE MERCY SEAT, and KIND OF KIN

“Lapidary in its research and lively in its voice, OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA by Leah Angstman is a rollicking story, racing along with wind in its sails. Though her tale unfolds hundreds of years in America’s past, Ruth Miner is the kind of high-spirited heroine whose high adventures haul you in and hold you fast.”
—Kathleen Rooney, author of LILLIAN BOXFISH TAKES A WALK and CHER AMI AND MAJOR WHITTLESEY

“Leah Angstman has written the historical novel that I didn’t know I needed to read. OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is set in an oft-forgotten time in the brutal wilds of pre-America that is so vividly and authentically drawn, with characters that are so alive and relevant, and a narrative so masterfully paced and plotted, that Angstman has performed the miracle of layering the tumultuous past over our troubled present to gift us a sparkling new reality.”
—Kevin Catalano, author of WHERE THE SUN SHINES OUT and DELETED SCENES AND OTHER STORIES

“OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a fascinating book, the kind of historical novel that evokes its time and place so vividly that the effect is just shy of hallucinogenic. I enjoyed it immensely.”
—Scott Phillips, author of THE ICE HARVEST, THE WALKAWAY, COTTONWOOD, and HOP ALLEY

“OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a meticulously researched novel that mixes history, love story, and suspense. Watching Angstman’s willful protagonist, Ruth Miner, openly challenge the brutal world of 17th-century New England, with its limiting ideas about gender, race, and science, was a delight.”
—Aline Ohanesian, author of ORHAN’S INHERITANCE

“Leah Angstman is a gifted storyteller with a poet’s sense of both beauty and darkness, and her stunning historical novel, OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA, establishes her as one of the most exciting young novelists in the country. Angstman plunges the reader into a brilliantly realized historical milieu peopled by characters real enough to touch. And in Ruth Miner, we are introduced to one of the most compelling protagonists in contemporary literature, a penetratingly intelligent, headstrong woman who is trying to survive on her wits alone in a Colonial America that you won’t find in the history books. A compulsive, vivid read that will change the way you look at the origins of our country, Leah Angstman’s OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA announces the arrival of a preternatural talent.”
—Ashley Shelby, author of MURI and SOUTH POLE STATION

“Rich, lyrical, and atmospheric, with a poet’s hand and a historian’s attention to detail. In OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA, Leah Angstman creates an immersive world for readers to get lost in and a fascinating story to propel them through it. A thoroughly engaging and compelling tale.”
—Steph Post, author of HOLDING SMOKE, MIRACULUM, and WALK IN THE FIRE

“It’s a rare story that makes you thankful for having read and experienced it. It’s rarer still for a story to evoke so wholly, so powerfully, another place and time as to make you thankful for the gifts that exist around you, which you take for granted. OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA is a book rich with misery, yet its characters are indefatigable; they yearn, despite their troubles, for victories personal and societal. Leah Angstman’s eye is keen, and her ability to transport you into America’s beginnings is powerful. With the raw ingredients of history, she creates a story both dashing and pensive, robust yet believable. From an unforgiving time, Angstman draws out a tale of all things inhuman, but one that reminds us of that which is best in all of us.”
—Eric Shonkwiler, author of ABOVE ALL MEN and 8TH STREET POWER AND LIGHT

About the Author

Leah Angstman is a historian and transplanted Michigander living in Boulder. OUT FRONT THE FOLLOWING SEA, her debut novel of King William’s War in 17th-century New England, is forthcoming from Regal House in January 2022. Her writing has been a finalist for the Saluda River Prize, Cowles Book Prize, Able Muse Book Award, Bevel Summers Fiction Prize, and Chaucer Book Award, and has appeared in Publishers Weekly, L.A. Review of Books, Nashville Review, Slice, and elsewhere. She serves as editor-in-chief for Alternating Current and The Coil magazine and copyeditor for Underscore News, which has included editing partnerships with ProPublica. She is an appointed vice chair of a Colorado historical commission and liaison to a Colorado historic preservation committee.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | INSTAGRAM | MEDIUM | ELLO | MAILING LIST

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Review for The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton

 

The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by  Chanel Cleeton 

Kindle Edition, 384 pages

Expected publication: May 4th 2021

Genre:  Historical Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Women’s Fiction

 

From Goodreads:  At the end of the nineteenth century, three revolutionary women fight for freedom in New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton’s captivating new novel inspired by real-life events and the true story of a legendary Cuban woman–Evangelina Cisneros–who changed the course of history.

A feud rages in Gilded Age New York City between newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. When Grace Harrington lands a job at Hearst’s newspaper in 1896, she’s caught in a cutthroat world where one scoop can make or break your career, but it’s a story emerging from Cuba that changes her life.

Unjustly imprisoned in a notorious Havana women’s jail, eighteen-year-old Evangelina Cisneros dreams of a Cuba free from Spanish oppression. When Hearst learns of her plight and splashes her image on the front page of his paper, proclaiming her, “The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba,” she becomes a rallying cry for American intervention in the battle for Cuban independence.

With the help of Marina Perez, a courier secretly working for the Cuban revolutionaries in Havana, Grace and Hearst’s staff attempt to free Evangelina. But when Cuban civilians are forced into reconcentration camps and the explosion of the USS Maine propels the United States and Spain toward war, the three women must risk everything in their fight for freedom.

My Thoughts… A story of The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba standing up for her country and calling for America to help Cuba defeat the Spanish and give Cuba the freedom they desire.  Every part of this historical fiction book gave me insight into life during a war.   The camps that citizens were forced into, the prisons they lived in, and the love they lost and found during a time of unrest all brought the story to life and gave me a new view of Cuban history.  

The story newspaper moguls, Hearst and Pulitzer, fighting to be the biggest paper in New York during the Gilded Age was interesting.  I loved Grace and the fact that she stepped outside of the usual woman roles by becoming a stunt writer.   She pushes the boundaries and succeeds in reaching her goals.

Chantel Cleeton writes about the women in Cuba with a style that pulls the reader in, brings Cuba to life, and teaches the history in a fictional book with as much truth as possible. 

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Meet Chanel Cleeton…Chanel Cleeton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana, When We Left Cuba, The Last Train to Key West, and The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. 

Originally from Florida, Chanel grew up on stories of her family's exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelor's degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London and a master's degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics & Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia.